EIF selects three Banks for Lithuania JEREMIE Holding Fund

The European Investment Fund has in principle chosen AB SEB Bankas, AB DnB NORD Bankas and AB Siauliu Bankas to manage a newly created Funded Risk Sharing Instrument dedicated to providing loans for Lithuanian SMEs.

AB SEB Bankas will receive up to EUR 75 million, AB DnB NORD Bankas up to EUR 25 million and AB Siauliu Bankas up to EUR 20 million from the Lithuanian JEREMIE Holding Fund. The selected banks will contribute to the implementation of the instrument providing up to 50% of their own resources. SMEs will have better access to credit resources for the next 2 years and this instrument should help to improve market conditions in Lithuania.

The Funded Risk Sharing Instrument allows selected banks to provide up to EUR 240 million of investment and working capital loans for the development and expansion of micro, small and medium size companies in Lithuania.

The EIF is also in final stages of concluding a similar process for the selection of the fourth bank to implement Funded Risk Sharing Instrument dedicated to Lithuanian SMEs. Once full EIF Board approval is obtained, a separate announcement will follow.

 This decision brings towards a close a process known as a ‘call for expression of interest' which attracted 8 banks operating in Lithuania. The EIF conducted a thorough analysis process to select the best applicants against set criteria and using the EIF's expertise built up through providing guarantees across Europe over the past 15 years; EIF's net guarantee portfolio amounted to EUR 12.3 billion at the end of 2008 and over 190 transactions.

About JEREMIE

JEREMIE (Joint European Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises) is a joint initiative launched by the European Commission (DG Regional Policy) and the European Investment Bank group to improve access to finance for SMEs in the EU within the Structural Funds framework for the period 2007 - 2013. JEREMIE enables the EU Member States and Regions to put money from the structural funds and also national resources into holding funds that can finance SMEs in a flexible and innovative way. Since the products will be provided on a repayment basis, funding will be reinvested and hence more SMEs will benefit from the EU resources.

EIF has currently signed 7 National (Greece, Romania, Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus and Bulgaria) and 2 Regional (in France - Languedoc Roussillon, and Italy - Campania) Holding Fund agreements.

The new initiative aims at developing and fostering the role of entrepreneurship within the EU in order to meet the objectives of the Lisbon agenda and help structural funds to deliver greater benefits to the market.

About EIF

EIF's central mission is to support Europe's small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) by helping them to access finance.  EIF designs and develops venture capital and guarantees instruments which specifically target this market segment. In this role, EIF fosters EU objectives in support of innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, growth, and employment. The EIF total net commitments to private equity funds amounted to over EUR 3.7bn at 30^th June 2009. With investments in over 300 funds, the EIF is a leading player in European venture due to the scale and the scope of its investments, especially in high-tech and early-stage segments. The EIF commitment in guarantees totaled over EUR 13.3bn in close to 190 operations, positioning it as a major European SME guarantees actor and a leading micro-finance guarantor.

Contacts: David Yormesor, tel +352 426 688 346